1 Close Reading and Sonnet 130 To perform the act of a close reading, one must do just that, read

closely. While reading closely, it is important to not just see the words on the page as one poem or one story. In close reading, one must break down the text to its finer points. It is all these minor details that give the text its significance. In order to achieve an accurate close reading one must read thoroughly, consider what every word is saying along with how they sound in the context, and understand that the small things are what fabricate the text. To build a bridge, one must first start out with bricks. After these bricks have been found, it is time to connect them and apply them to the text. This is what gives the entire poem or story its full significance as a whole. Once it is understood that the small details give the text its significance, one can start on their journey of close reading. One of the best ways to learn is by doing, and it is time to do just that. William Shakespeares Sonnet 130 (My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun) may have been written a very long time ago, but it is no less important today as it was then. Without close reading one may see this poem as an expression of admiration by a noble lover however if one were to look deeper he or she may find something else. The speaker (or even the poet) is nothing less than conceited. Being that there are only fourteen lines of this poem there is not much room for the poet to work with. However the poet has been able to refer to his lover by the words she, her, or mistress ten different times. Because that is nearly once every line this poem may seem romantic. However if one keeps looking he or she would find that the poet (or speaker) refers to himself almost as many times. Nine different times in this sonnet does the poet refer to himself by either

2 the word I or me. These details make the sonnet lose the romantic tone it had at first glance. Now the reader can see that this is the work of someone who seems to be filled with conceit. Another noticeable part of this poem that leads one to see that the poet is conceited is his use of the phrase my mistress (lines 1, 8, and 12). By using the possessive adjective my, the poet seems like he is saying he has power over his mistress. This makes the poet seem very selfrighteous. A true lover would never claim to own his mistress unless he was very arrogant. Also when the two words my and mistress come together they produce a slight case of alliteration. This alliteration makes the phrase itself seem much more forceful. This combination of power and force makes the poet seem very full of himself, which only accentuates his sense of selfimportance. Something else that presents the poet to be conceited is his use of firm declarations. When the poet says, I have seen (line 5) and, I know (line 9) he appears to be very sure of himself. This along with the prior observations adds to the poets conceit. These firm statements not only make the poet seem very sure of himself, but they also make it seem as though he is trying to prove something to someone (perhaps someone who has written a poem where the mistress is compared to things that Shakespeare has deliberately avoided). Also, in the sonnets final couplet the poet says, I think Here it can be seen that the poet is slightly doubtful. This change of sureness may seem like the poet has become modest however the context of these final to lines holds to the contrary. This final couplet is when the poet finally expresses his true love for the mistress. If he loves her as much as he claims he does, his certainty should extend throughout the entire poem. The doubt that seems to overcome the poet in this final couplet makes it seems like he may think there is someone out in the world he could

3 possibly hold more love for. The poets switch from certainty to doubt almost seems to ridicule his mistress thus adding to his conceit. Throughout the entire sonnet the poet seems to be making fun of typical Petrarchan poets and poetry. The poet deliberately avoids adhering to that type of format. For example, the poet states this: Coral is far more red than her lips red (line 2). If the poet had been following the unofficial guidelines of Petrarchan metaphor, he would have said something like, Her lips are like coral. Going further on that, in lines nine and ten the poet states this: I love to hear her speak, yet well I know / That music hath a far more pleasing sound. Again, it can be seem how the poet is diverging from Petrarchan metaphor. If he were not he would have said something along the lines of, Her voice sounds as beautiful as music. And once more in lines eleven and twelve the poet deliberately says that his mistress is not like a goddess. In Petrarchan poetry, a woman being compared to goddess is not uncommon and here Shakespeare is clearly refusing to obey such a method. In this refusal the poet seems to be mocking typical Petrarchan metaphor in a way of making fun of it. This adds so much more to the poets arrogant and conceited attitude that makes him seem like an utter jerk. In poetry using metaphors, not just that of Petrarchan format, is not only common but perhaps the most important part of poetry. One thing that the poet has done in Sonnet 130 is he has rejected using metaphor at all. This can be seen in the very first line of the poem: My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun. Not only is this deliberate but the poet has stated it right at the beginning of his text. He seems as though he is really trying to prove that he does not need metaphors to write a good poem. Another time the poet seems to avoid metaphor is in lines five and six: I have seen roses damasked, red and white, / But no such roses see I in her cheeks. The poet could have used the metaphor, Her cheeks are roses, but instead he claims they are

4 not in order to prove his talent. He seems to be brashly and arrogantly rejected the common practice of using metaphor in poetry. This could perhaps be what makes this poet seem so conceited. By refusing to use metaphor but to still write a good sonnet, the poet is basically saying that he is better than everyone else in the practice. Most people who read this poem would see it as a true expression of admiration to the speakers mistress. They would, without a doubt, not see the poet to be conceited at all because they were not reading close enough. This, however, was most certainly the poets goal. While avoiding metaphors and building himself up as much as his mistress in this poem, the poet has still written a poem that most will associate with romance. This is perhaps the reason for the poets conceit. He deliberately avoided the standards of a romantic poem yet people still enjoy it as such. Not only was he belligerently arrogant throughout the entire poem, but he accomplished his goal of writing a romance poem in the process. The poet is conceited because he truly is one of the best at his art, and can manipulate words in such a way that almost trick people into thinking what he wants them to. If I had not done a close reading on William Shakespeares Sonnet 130, I would have thought what most others think about this poem: It is a romantic expression of admiration. However due to the close reading I was able to see something deeper, that others may not see at first glance. This is one of the many values of close reading, being able to see what others fail to notice. When one does this he or she holds a better understanding of the text they have read. This could allow the reader to not only see what the writer was thinking, but also what the writer may have been feeling at the time he or she wrote the poem or story. Another important aspect of close reading is that one should not try to find a moral lesson in the text he or she is reading. When a person goes into a text expecting to find such a lesson they will assume things that they

5 should otherwise not assume. They will interpret the text to say what they want it to rather than what the actual writer wanted. This is yet another advantage of close reading. Because a close reader should not go into a text expected some hidden moral lessons, he or she can interpret the text without any assumptions therefore understanding it better and having a outlook on the actual writer. While close reading has its values and advantages, it also holds a few limitations. Because a lot of enjoyment in reading comes from first impression as well as doubt, close reading can be seen as something very boring. If one reads so closely that he or she has dissected the text to a point where no more details can be found, the close reader may find that the text is actually boring and has no substance whereas someone who refrained from close reading may thoroughly enjoy the text in front of them. Also some writers intend for their work to give a moral lesson or teaching in the text. Because a close reader is supposed to avoid searching for moral lessons they may miss out on what the writer was actually trying to say. Another limitation of close reading is that it can tend to limit imagination. For some people, such as fiction writers, imagination is very important. This limit on imagination is also slightly ironic because the writer probably used a lot of it while composing their text. When one is only supposed to see the text as text, his or her imagination could be slightly crippled thus allowing them to lose some enjoyment. Some may see the lack of enjoyment in close reading to be the most off-putting thing about it. Whether one considers the values and limitations of close reading or not, it is still an important practice that can help one have a much deeper understanding of literature and writing in general. Works Cited

6 Shakespeare, William. Sonnet 130 (My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun). The Norton Shakespeare: Based on the Oxford Edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, Walter Cohen, Jean E. Howard, et al. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 2008. 1990.